President Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that the destruction caused by floods during the last two years was a wake-up call for everyone to search for permanent solutions to natural disasters, and called upon national and international experts and UN agencies to devise practical plans to counter climate change.
Addressing representatives of various UN agencies engaged in relief and rehabilitation work in Sindh, Zardari said food, shelter, water and sanitation, health and logistics were critical clusters and called upon relevant UN agencies and donors to coordinate with the National Disaster Management Authority to carry out humanitarian assistance.
He said all relevant state institutions including the army and navy had been geared up to play their role in providing relief to flood victims, adding that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and the Baitul Mal had also been mobilised. The president thanked the UN secretary general for launching an urgent international appeal for humanitarian assistance.
Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari met heads of leading banks to discuss their organisations’ role in mitigating sufferings of the people. “Over 90 percent of the land in Sindh is owned by small farmers and banks need to devise plans to provide financial relief to them,” Babar quoted the president as saying.
The president also asked the State Bank of Pakistan to work with commercial banks to urgently devise an appropriate plan to assist farmers who had “lost not only their standing crops but their capacity to grow in the future”. The meeting with bankers was followed by a similar meeting with traders and representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The president asked traders and pharmaceutical companies to sit together and formulate a plan to combat spurious drugs and pesticides, an issue raised by people in some flood affected areas.
‘Do not discriminate against Dalits’
KARACHI – President Asif Ali Zardari took notice on Friday of reports that Scheduled Caste Hindus (Dalits) were being denied humanitarian assistance and entry into relief camps, and ordered the authorities concerned to immediately provide relief to all marooned and stranded people including the Hindus and told the provincial government to submit a report on the matter.
Presidential Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Zardari asked the Sindh chief minister to look into the complaints and resolve the issues. He said this discrimination was “unacceptable” and the disaster caused by floods was a humanitarian issue, which was beyond partisan or religious considerations. Staff Report
